Oil Spilling News

A remediation programme to protect island ecosystems from damage caused by oil pollution from World War II wrecks sunk in the Pacific Ocean will launch in Newcastle Harbour today (Thursday 23 May).The programme is the result of a partnership between Major Projects Foundation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) – an intergovernmental Pacific regional organisation made up of 26 members – and the University of Newcastle. It will see expert teams of scientists, engineers and marine archaeologists work with Pacific island communities to meet the challenges posed by the degradation of wrecks.There are in excess of 3…

The operator of a U.K.-registered containership has been ordered to pay £17,311.01 for breaching oil pollution legislation. The Ever Sigma – operated by Evergreen Marine – was en route from Greece to the Netherlands when 700 liters of heavy fuel oil went overboard. The incident occurred when the chief engineer decided to carry out an internal transfer of heavy fuel oil using two pumps. The heavy fuel oil was not pre-heated prior to the transfer – and the vessel’s master was not informed. A precautionary alarm sounded when the tank reached 336 metric tons (69% full). However, the use of two pumps continued for another hour when the transfer was stopped when the fuel level reached 417 metric tons (85% full).

An international survey (Michel et al., 2005) has identfied over 8,500 sunken shipwrecks in marine waters around the world, including more than 1,500 sunken tank vessels (≥ 150 gross tons) and nearly 7,000 sunken non-tank vessels (≥ 400 gross tons). These wrecks may contain as much as 20 million tons (140 million barrels) of oil and other hazardous materials. Sporadic or continuous leakages or potential sudden massive spillages from these wrecks, 75 percent of which stem from World War II, pose a continual risk across the globe. The problem of potentially-polluting wrecks has long been discussed and recent incidents around the world…

Registration is now open for the American Salvage Association (ASA) and the North American Marine Environmental Protection Association (NAMEPA) co-sponsored conference, “Wrecks of the World II (WOW II): Evaluating and Addressing Potential Underwater Threats” to be held on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7 at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in the Washington, DC area (Linthicum Heights, MD) USA. The conferencewill explore the myriad issues (pollution threat, regulatory, risk assessment, oil removal and remediation, implications to the environment, legal, insurance and funding issues, next steps) related to the more than 8,500 sunken vessels in the world, many of them World War II-era.

The American Salvage Association (ASA) and the North American Marine Environmental Protection Association (NAMEPA) will co-sponsor a conference, “Wrecks of the  World: Hidden Risks of the Deep (WOW) II” on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in the Washington, DC area (Linthicum Heights, MD) USA. The conference will explore the myriad issues (pollution threat, impact modeling, risk assessment, oil removal and remediation, implications to the environment, legal, insurance and funding issues, next steps) related to the more than 8,500 sunken vessels in the world, many of them World War II-era.

Fred McCallister, an investment banker with Allegiance Capital Corporation, sent a letter to Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen on June 17 asking for a limited waiver of the Jones Act, to enable 12 to 25 foreign flagged skimmer ships to assist in clean-up efforts in the Gulf. "Many in the Gulf have been calling for this equipment, which can collect 3,500 gallons of oil per hour per vessel from Gulf waters. With estimates now at 2.5 million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf every day, the urgency can't be overstated," said McCallister, a Vice President at Allegiance Capital.

The American Salvage Association (ASA), supported by the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI), International Salvage Union (ISU), Marine Technology Society (MTS), Maritime Law Association of the United States (MLA), North American Marine Environmental Protection Association (NAMEPA), Spill Control Association of America (SCAA), Maritime Technology Alliance (MTA), and the World Ocean Council (WOC), will sponsor a conference, “Wrecks of the  World: Hidden Risks of the Deep (WOW)” on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in the Washington, DC area (Linthicum Heights, MD) USA.

Coast Guard personnel throughout New England recently launched an operation to ensure that commercial tugs are following rules, regulations and licensing procedures. The intent of the operation, dubbed Big Tow, is to identify areas of Uninspected Towing Vessel concentrations and examine the vessels to verify the operators hold a valid Coast Guard license that is appropriate for the size and route of their vessel. "Historically, we haven't seen many inadequately licensed UTV operators in New England waters," said Lt. Scott White of the Coast Guard First District prevention department. The operation was created in response to a collision on the Mississippi River July 23, 2008, involving a cargo vessel and a loaded oil barge that resulted in more than 282,000 gallons of No.

The Ninth Coast Guard District will commence Operation Big Tow within the Great Lakes area of responsibility to ensure commercial tugs are compliant with rules, regulations and licensing procedures. The Coast Guard is conducting Operation Big Tow as a continuous safety message to the maritime industry community. The intent of this operation is strictly a marine safety focused operation being conducted to ensure that individuals operating Uninspected Towing Vessel (UTVs) are properly licensed. A Marine Safety Alert message was released in September 2008 by the Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship in Washington, D.C. in response to a recent collision between a cargo vessel and a loaded oil barge in the Mississippi River.

The pressures - political, financial and environmental -to ensure onboard personnel are skillfully trained at operating increasingly complex vessels is tremendous. Simply stated, vessel owners and operators must employ increasingly advanced training courses - both system- and vessel-specific - as well as general courses, in order to avoid costly accidents and litigation. In just the past few years, mariners have proven these courses work, as the amount of oil spilled into the sea has decreased dramatically. According to the USCG, in 1990, tankbarges moved 72 billion gallons of oil, spilling 992,000 gallons, or one-one millionth of a percent.

The AP has reported that ships have been stranded, seafood sources threatened and the nation's oil reserve tapped as the result of 47,000 gallons of oil spilling into a southwestern Louisiana shipping channel, forcing its closure. The June 19 spill at a Citgo Petroleum Corp. refinery in Lake Charles forced the closure of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, a key lane for transporting petroleum in and out of the region's four refineries. About 11 miles of the channel remained closed Thursday. The entire 40 miles to the Gulf of Mexico had been closed. About 31,000 barrels had been cleaned up by Thursday, the Coast Guard said. A Citgo spokesman said the clean up was going well partly because a lack a wind kept oil patches in place and the dry, sunny weather was evaporating much of the oil.

The Coast Guard is responding to an oil spill in the Calcasieu Parish Ship Channel, near the CITGO Clifton Ridge Terminal, in Lake Charles, La. CITGO notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Lake Charles Tuesday night of an undetermined amount of oil spilling into the channel. At 3 a.m. today the Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Capt. Sharon Richey, closed the Calcasieu Parish Ship Channel to all maritime traffic between lights 112 and 100. CITGO had been cleaning up a waste-water spill in the Indian Marais drainage, and have now expanded their efforts to include the new spill. The Coast Guard and CITGO are conducting aerial surveys to get a more accurate assessment of the situation. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

"Tug boat sinks, spills diesel fuel" declared the headline in the Local section of the newspaper. And, strictly speaking, the headline was correct. In 1906, The Captain Morgan had been built as a tug. But as the fourth paragraph acknowledged, "The owner was having the boat ... refurbished into a house boat." So would it be more correct, technically speaking, to say "House boat sinks?" It may be a subtle distinction, but subtleties are why people buy newspapers. Houseboaters and pleasure boaters in general, some might imagine, leave no waterborne pollutants in Charleston harbor, while commercial vessels and oil spills were practically synonymous by November 9. And potentially scandalous.

Dutch towage and salvage company Multraship has completed the salvage of Eclips, the pusher tug that sank in Antwerp harbor last week. Multraship utilized its floating sheerlegs Cormorant to salve the pusher tug that sank in at the Vrasene dock. of the water and delivered the vessel intact. Leendert Muller, director of Multraship. tug and into the harbor. Eclips sank overnight on March 9. It is not yet known why. Two of the three crewmembers were able to jump overboard and were rescued. The third crewmember managed to get off the vessel just before it sank.

Dutch towage and salvage company, Multraship, has successfully completed the salvage of Eclips, the pusher tug that sank in Antwerp Harbor last week. Multraship utilized its 600-ton floating sheerlegs Cormorant to salve the pusher tug that sank in 52 ft. (16 m) of water at Vrasene dock. In the early hours of the morning on March 12, Multraship lifted Eclips out of the water and delivered the vessel intact. "Eclips was salvaged just over two days after the vessel sank," says Leendert Muller, director of Multraship. "It was a difficult operation as the Multraship salvage team was anxious to prevent oil spilling from the tug and into the harbour. It is not yet known why Eclipse sank on March 9. Two of the three crewmembers were able to jump overboard and were rescued.

At a joint hearing of the USCG and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, AWO President Tom Allegretti testified the maritime industry is moving more oil safely than ever before. The hearing, held on the tenth anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, sought to expore the effectiveness of OPA 90. Allegretti testified OPA 90 launched a process that is dramatically working to reduce spills and the risk of spills. According to the USCG, in 1990, tankbarges moved 72 billion gllons of oil, spilling 992,000. However, in 1997, tankbarges moved roughly the same amoung - 71.5 billion gallons - whjile spilling only 166,000 gallons, resulting in 83 percent less oil spilled.